120 Ω resistor colour code
Four bands: Brown · Red · Brown · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
120 Ω
120 ohms
Real range at ±5%
114 Ω – 126 Ω
A gold band allows this much drift.
Series
E12
Held in almost every parts drawer.
Band by band
| Band | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown | 1st digit — 1 |
| 2 | Red | 2nd digit — 2 |
| 3 | Brown | Multiplier — ×10 |
| 4 | Gold | Tolerance — ±5% |
How much it can take
Current and dissipation across the resistor, and the package you need. The suggested rating keeps a factor of two in hand, which is what anyone building a board actually does.
| Across it | Current | Dissipated | Package to pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 V | 27.5 mA | 90.7 mW | 1/4 W |
| 5 V | 41.7 mA | 208 mW | 1/2 W |
| 12 V | 100 mA | 1.2 W | 5 W |
| 24 V | 200 mA | 4.8 W | no standard part — needs a power resistor or a heatsink |
What you can actually get
Parts made
226
15th most of 1,465 values
In stock
37,072
across 6 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.0012
each
Tolerances sold
±0.01% to ±10%
10 grades in all
Packages: 0805, 0603, 1206, 0402, 1210, 2512, 2010, 0204. Ratings: 30mW to 25W.
What ten of them actually cost
The price everyone quotes is the reel price. If you want ten, you cannot buy the reel — and the real figure is usually several times higher per piece.
Ten pieces
$0.93
$0.093 each · Cut Tape (CT) · minimum order 1
The reel price
$0.055
each, but only from 30,000 pieces up
Sitting in stock
64,303
across 1 part numbers
Per piece, ten costs 1.7× the reel price. That gap is why a handful of resistors never costs what the headline price suggests.
Stocked in ±0.1%, rated 1/16 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: ERA-2AEB121X by Panasonic Industry — see it at Digi-Key.
Assembly stock from the JLCPCB library, read 2026-09-24. Retail prices and stock from Digi-Key, read 2026-09-24. Prices move — check the product page before ordering. That is what a board house will place for you — not everything a distributor sells.
The same value, marked differently
Five bands
BrownRedBlackBrownBrown
Three significant digits and a ±1% band.
Values that can overlap this one
At ±5% the tolerance bands of neighbouring values run into each other. A part sold as one of these could measure the same as a 120 Ω — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 110 Ω104.5 Ω–115.5 Ω
- 113 Ω111.87 Ω–114.13 Ω
- 115 Ω113.85 Ω–116.15 Ω
- 118 Ω116.82 Ω–119.18 Ω
- 121 Ω119.79 Ω–122.21 Ω
- 124 Ω122.76 Ω–125.24 Ω
- 127 Ω125.73 Ω–128.27 Ω
- 130 Ω123.5 Ω–136.5 Ω
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 120 Ω when combined.